Horace's Biting the Bullet Diary

Fortune_Smiles

Take care of yourself Horace.

Fortune x

Horace

Still feeling rough but I managed to drive to the shops as I needed something to eat and I wanted to get some tissues, I wasn't out long but out long enough to tire myself out.

My next door neighbour came to ask if I needed anything so I said that I didn't because I had already been out - nice of him to ask though.

Mum phoned tonight as she wanted to come round and I have told her to stay away because I do not want her nor my dad to catch the flu. She was going to put some stuff behind the radiator in this room and in my bedroom as these are the only radiators on outside walls. She was also going to put the end stops on my curtain rails as I still haven't managed to do them yet.

Phoned the doctors to be told that the earliest appointment I could have was Monday at 10.20 - I will need a note so that I can return to college. Hopefully, I should be feeling a lot better by then. I need to start taking my eye drops again but so far have been unable to do so and hence my eyes are playing up..grump.

Need to write a letter to Amex once again because they still haven't changed my address (and although I have set up forwarding for my mail and extended it for another 12 months - it would seem that the bill was wrongly delivered and somebody opened it and put it in the post back to the post office). I have nearly cleared that card with £525 left to pay on it.

I think I will ring Scottish Power tomorrow because although I am paying them £55 a month for my gas and electric - I am still nearly £300 in credit and to be honest I would rather that money be in my account rather than theirs. I have fixed my prices again though but I am so economical.

beanielou

Well if you get money back from Sc Power you could pay part of it to Amex ?

Horace

I managed to take advantage of the sunshine and did two lots of washing which I hung on the line.

I am still full of lurgy and it has now gone to my sinuses and ears and I keep losing my balance and generally feeling out of sorts.

I did not manage to ring Scottish Power today but received an email from them to say that the price I pay for dual fuel isn't going up as I fixed the price until 31 July 2014 so I will be paying the grand total of £660 for the year which isn't bad compared to other suppliers. I am so lucky to live in a well-insulated house with A rated appliances and lots of low energy lighting.

I am tackling my remaining Amex bill by other means and have again written to them to notify them of the change of address. I have also been completing a complicated application form.

Horace

Feeling relieved that we did not have the storm that was expected - sure we had a huge dumping of rain in the early hours but no sign of wind. Guess, we had a lucky escape.

I was a tad miffed this morning as a twerp from college phoned me to see why I wasn't in so I explained that I had spoken to them last week and advised them that I had an appointment with my doctor this morning and no I would not be in afterwards. Twerp muttered about keeping himself out of the loop and not being advised that he had been told already. There is a new doctor at the surgery I attend and he has confirmed that I have had the flu and that it has left me with acute sinusitis, I was also signed off and can return to college on Monday. I rang college (deliberately did not phone twerp but phoned the number we have to ring if we are sick), I was advised that an email had been sent to everybody including twerp so there was no reason for him to call - a new email will be sent round to explain what was happening and that I will be returning on Monday (armed with a self cert and the doctors note).

Mum phoned too - I had to let her know that her phone was giving out her number and that she should change it so it didn't (she is ex-directory and has always been number withheld/unknown). I explained what was wrong with me and how I had two lots of nose drops to take - now I can work on getting better.

Not sure what to have for dinner - I might get a steak out of the freezer and have that with some spuds and some watercress. Sometimes I have steak and get it from Aldi.

beanielou

Hope you are on the mend soon.
Take care.

Horace

I cooked for the first time in over a week (I don't count cooking up porridge as cooking). In the end I could not be bothered to step outside to the outdoor freezer to get some steak out and rummaged instead in the indoor one and found some mince - it was spag bol for dinner tonight.

I have been watching the gogglebox - boggling at the chavs on Jeremy Kyle and I have been reading some Maeve Binchy as mum recommended them to me and I had so far managed to avoid them - dunno why as they are quite good.

I have also washed up and sorted the kitchen out a bit. I must get a drill and use youtube to teach me how to drill through tiles as mum has bought me a towel rail to go over the radiator in the bathroom so I will at least have warm towels when I get out of the shower. Dad is no longer in a fit state to drill anything as his shakes are just too bad and I don't really want every tile in the bathroom damaged which is what would happen if he got his paws on the drill.

If I can manage it, I will get on the step ladder tomorrow and hammer in a picture hook in the hall so that I can hang my oil painting (this was bought quite a long time ago with money left to me by grandma). It is a lovely picture but it won't go in the lounge as that room is too modern, it looks good in the hall (we have held it up to the wall before now to see what it looks like).

Best go and sort myself out - I have my sinus headache back (not that it ever went away, it is just more pronounced tonight).
.

Horace

Still battling the dregs of sinusitis..grump.

I had a bit of a spendy day today, I did nip to mum's to drop off some stuff and she lent me another Maeve Binchy book, she had bought me a flat sheet, the towel rail for the bathroom plus a wonderful duvet set that she had seen in one of those free mags that come with the newspapers.

I had to go to D*nelm to take back a flat sheet as mum had inadvertently picked up a king size one, they gave me the money back which I then spent on a further sheet. I picked up two faux silk cushion covers in their sale as they were a nice shade of aubergine which match my curtains. I also picked up two pillows in the sale (I need more but realistically I am changing them two at a time), I got the clippit hooky things to go on my towels and although I looked at the photo frame that was in the sale that I wanted, I didn't particularly like it so chose another one which had 4 apertures as opposed to 12 but it is more modern and less childish.

The place was heaving as it was sale day and it was full of frazzled parents with brats - I am sure that when I was a kid and behaved like those in store today that I would have been given a really hard smack. One little terror decided to pull down a mirror - the mirror was quite large and was leaning on a ground level shelf - it must have been about 6ft long and 4ft wide (great if you lived in a massive house) - smash, the mirror glass smashed to smithereens yet I notice the parents did not offer to pay for the damage.

I then wandered into Home Sense and came out with a few things, I looked at their clearance shelf and spotted 4 rather stylish plates that had been reduced to £2 each from £8, I did not get them straightaway because I wanted to have a browse and a think first. I did eventually buy them as they were small dinner plates and I wanted some small ones (they are probably large side plates), I picked up a lime green pot that I can take to college with a snack or two in and got two little treats for Christmas that I am going to put away. These treats will go into a little box for me so that I can open something each day over Christmas and have little treats for me.

Mum made me laugh today - charming she was, "oh you are getting fat" me "yes mum but I haven't really eaten anything since I have been ill and now I am eating more" her "oh you must be eating the wrong things then" me "I have been eating fruit and veg" her "would you like a homemade apple pie, would you like some steak" - me "no thanks". Hello, what is with the you are getting fat malarkey and then offering me pies? Mothers!

Dinner tonight was some re-heated chicken casserole.

Hoping for a relatively dry day tomorrow as I have bulbs to put in, and if it stays dry long enough then I will mow the lawn.

beanielou

Mothers indeed :rotfl:

Horace

Some gardening done on Sunday but not all - I still have a ton of bulbs to go in but the ground is far too wet. I got the pots planted up though.

I was back at college yesterday - it was great until it came to home time and I cannot see in the dark, I got one bus which took me part way and I only had to cross the road to nip to Ald* to get milk and a few bits before hopping on another bus home. I hated getting off as I had to cross a dual carriageway and I found it very hard to judge the depth of the kerb and not only that the speed of the cars coming towards me. I managed to get across the road the other side was easier as there was very little traffic coming down the hill. Whilst walking home along the wonky pavement I managed to trip up and fall over because I just cannot see the lumps and bumps in the pavement when it is dark.

I mentioned my fall at college today and I now have an appointment to see one of the mobility team - it may mean that I have to have a sight stick to use at night so that I can at least feel the lumpy pavements and not trip up. It might give me a bit of confidence to go out in the dark.

I had some news when I got home - I have an interview on 19 November at the local childrens hospital working in the ophthalmology department - I shall find out who works in there as I have a feeling that consultants from the eye hospital go and perform surgery there. I told mum tonight and she said that I was fat and that as an incentive dad would pay me £200 if I lost a stone by Christmas and another £200 if I lost a further stone by the end of February - she then offered me more cake..I refused and as I do not have a set of scale in the house to weigh myself on then I will have no idea if I have lost weight or not.

At least I have an interview - the first for many months as I usually either don't get a response or if I do then I am always told that I wasn't successful - heck I cannot even get a temporary Christmas job:mad: